All I Want
by LERDM
Summary: Eliza Kirk is the twin sister of James T, unfortunately, they both wish it was otherwise. When she joins Starfleet to leave her life in Iowa she meets a young Spock. She's everything he needs to be balanced, and he's the same for her. When are they going to realize that all they want is each other? And will Eliza's penchant for danger get her killed first? Spock x OC, slow burn
1. Chapter 1

James was angry. The emotion was volatile and dangerous, not dangerous like a gun or a phaser, more like the sort of danger of a brick wall on a highway. Unfortunately, Eliza was driving blind. She didn't understand why he was so mad.

They had never gotten along. They were not the poster children for the close bond between twins. Years with their jerk of a stepfather had pit them against each other one too many times, especially when James' bad behaviour would get them both punished.

Eliza finally found a way out. She was top of her class, her scores were phenomenal, only to be matched by James. Starfleet was the best way, a free education, an all but guaranteed job at the end that paid well, a chance to follow in her father's footsteps? Eliza saw little downsides. James disagreed.

"I'm not doing this again James," Eliza said. The argument had barely begun, but already she had been pushed to her limit. "Dad left us, and mom left us, and now we have nothing. I'm just trying to take my own life back!"

"By running away?!" James shouted back.

"I'm not running away! I'm moving on! If you want to stay here and breath the dry dusty air of Iowa, and end up as a skeleton in the desert then be my guest! But I am not going to let you take this from me!" Eliza yelled. She grabbed her bags and left. She started the long walk to the shuttle station that would take her to San Francisco, as she had no other means of transportation.

About halfway there, a small shuttle with no markings stopped beside her on the road.

"Excuse me miss," An older man spoke from inside. "Do you need a ride somewhere?"

Eliza looked up at his kind face, she suspected that he could be trusted, but she'd been wrong before.

"No, I'm nearly there anyway. Besides, it's probably out of your way," Eliza said as kindly as she could.

"Where is it you're heading?" The man asked.

Eliza paused for a moment before thinking of a response, "The Starfleet shuttle station, they'll be expecting me there soon."

The man then grinned widely, "I'm Captain Christopher Pike, please, let me give you a ride, we are going to the same place after all. And I expect that you won't want to get caught up in that dust storm."

Eliza looked back over her shoulder, and sure enough, on the horizon, she could see a storm rising. If she were to continue on foot, she surely would not reach the station before the storm.

Eliza smiled graciously, "Then thank you, Captain Pike."

She climbed aboard and they sped off. "So," Pike started, "What's your name Cadet?"

"Eliza Kirk, sir," She replied.

Pike's eyes widened, "Kirk?"

Eliza looked at him strangely, "Yes sir."

Pike smiled slightly bittersweetly, "I knew your father very well, I was honoured to call him a friend." Eliza looked at him in surprise. She didn't really know how to respond. "He would have been very proud to see you here."

At that, Eliza smiled and replied: "I hope so."

Pike smiled and nodded. A confused look then passed over Pike's face, "Correct me if I'm wrong... but you have a twin brother don't you?"

Eliza's face soured and she looked away, "James," She spoke tersely, "Would rather drink himself to death."

Pike could tell he had started a topic of conversation that was unsavoury to the young Kirk, and so he immediately switched the subject.

"What are you going to be taking at the academy?"

Eliza smiled, putting the previous topic of conversation behind them. "Tactical command and analysis," She replied.

"Ah, so you're a fighter then," Pike commented with a grin.

"Yes, sir."

They arrived at the shuttle station not too long later.

"Well kid, I wish you the best of luck, and I'm certain I will see you around the academy, and maybe one day as my first officer," Pike said with a smile.

"Thank you," Eliza paused, "Captian."

She boarded the shuttle alone and gazed out the window as she headed out towards her new life.

* * *

The first thing that the new Cadets did when they arrived in San Francisco was drop off their bags in their rooms. Eliza was surprised to see that her room was listed to be in a different building than the rooms of the other cadets. Uncertainly, Eliza followed the directions on the pad. She eventually was standing outside door 501.

Before she could even knock, the door opened and revealed a tall Vulcan.

"Hello, I am Spock," He spoke.

Eliza smiled, "Hi, I'm Eliza... um... I think I have the wrong room."

Spock smiled slightly in return, "On the contrary, it seems that we are in fact roommates. I assume that, given we are of two different sexes, we were given a larger space with two separate bedrooms."

"Oh," Eliza said, "Yes, that would make sense." Eliza stuck out her hand, "It's nice to meet you."

Spock shook her hand and said, "Likewise."

* * *

It soon became apparent that the two of them were quite a good pair. She was emotional, impulsive, strong, loud. He was cool, calm, genius, quiet. Spock learned a great deal from Eliza, and the same could be said on the flip side. They shared two classes together, xenolinguistics and survival techniques. Spock was quite brilliant at languages, yet he struggled with survival, where sometimes the logical choice wasn't the best one. Eliza was alright with some of the languages, but usually, Spock had to help her out, but in repayment, she helped him with survival.

Spock was often taunted or teased by other cadets, something that didn't seem to bother him, but something that infinitely bothered Eliza. This all came to a head when, for their survival class, they were sent on a one-week survival mission to the Himalayan mountains. They had one week to make it to the extraction point and they had the bare essentials of gear and food.

They were put into teams of four, Spock and Eliza were, unfortunately, paired with two of Spocks worst tormentors. Greg and Markus were in a lot of the same classes as Spock and generally were very jealous that he was constantly at the top of their classes. They were dropped off at night and were given an old map of the area and a compass.

Eliza turned to her team, "Does anyone here have any mountaineering experience?" Spock shook his head along with Markus and Greg. Eliza then thought for a moment, "Okay, you all should set up the tent, I'm taking the headlamp, rope, map and compass and I'm going to chart out the first part of our route. I'll be back before the morning, you all should get some rest."

Spock gently grabbed her arm before she turned away, "Eliza, isn't it very dangerous to go alone in the dark? What if something happens to you? How will we know to signal for help?" Spock questioned. "It is only logical that I come with you."

Eliza smiled and put her hand over his, "As much as I would like not to go alone, it would be more dangerous to bring an inexperienced climber with me."

"And how are we supposed to know if little miss _experienced climber_ gets herself killed in the night?" Greg asked mockingly.

Eliza's eyebrow twitched, "Well Greg if I'm not back by the time the sun rises then it's safe to assume that I've gotten myself killed in the night." She grabbed the supply bag, removed the things she didn't need, and then marched off into the darkness.

Greg and Markus set up the tent while Spock watched the light from Eliza's headlamp slowly disappear into the darkness.

"Come on pointy ears!" Markus called from inside the large tent, "Your girlfriend told us to get some rest."

...

Eliza was making good time, there were actually two different ways that she could have gone to get to her desired point on the map, while one was faster than the other, it was significantly more dangerous. She roped the safer way, and then made the trek back to the tent, following her footsteps leading away from it. She made it back just as the sun was beginning to peak over the mountain tops.

As she approached the tent she heard arguing from within.

"Eliza specifically said that she would return before the sun rises, we must signal for help," Spock's level-headed voice spoke.

"Well I'm not getting a fail in this class, give her a minute, we all know she's the cockiest cadet in Starfleet. Always over exaggerating her skills. She probably hasn't even mountaineered before," The arrogant voice of Greg said.

"Well if you refuse to call for assistance, we should at least push forward and see if we can find her ourselves," Spock said.

"Fine," Markus agreed.

The three men exited the tent to find that Eliza was sitting in the snow drinking from her water bottle.

"Ready to go?" She asked.

Spock met eyes with her, and she could tell that he was relieved, "I thought that perhaps something had gone wrong."

"No, it's fine. The map's just a little out of date is all," Eliza replied with a small smile. She then turned to Greg and Markus, "Let's go."

She led them through the pass that she roped out, helping them along the way.

"So where'd you even get so good at this anyway?" Markus asked.

"I had a friend when I was a kid, and her dad was a climber, he taught me the ropes," Eliza replied.

The journey was about five hours long, and went by in relative silence, besides Spock occasionally pointing out certain things about their surroundings. They arrived at a good area to set up the tent at about 5 pm.

"I'm going to get some sleep, then I'll rope the next leg. If we keep going at this pace, we'll make it to the extraction point in two more days," Eliza said.

"Yes, but is it realistic to ask you to continue going at this pace for three more days?" Spock asked.

Eliza looked at him and thought for a moment, "I guess we'll find out."

Eliza climbed in the tent and began to sleep. About four hours later she emerged, and Spock looked surprised to see her.

"Am I incorrect in my understanding that the average human requires between 6 and eight hours of sleep?" Spock asked her.

Eliza shrugged, "I'll be fine." She grabbed the bag of climbing gear from beside the tent. "I'll see you in the morning," Eliza said to Spock.

The pattern repeated for the next two days, and Spock could see that Eliza was not going to be able to keep going like this. Luckily, that morning they were set to arrive at the extraction point.

Eliza looked at the map and then looked around in confusion, "I... I don't understand, it should be right here..."

Spock looked over Eliza's shoulder and looked at the map. "I agree that according to the map, we should be in the right place. However, have we not previously established that the map is out of date? Perhaps so are the markings."

Eliza rubbed her forehead, while Spock dealt with Markus and Greg.

"So what are we supposed to do now?!" Greg shouted.

"I knew she was going to screw this up for us!" Markus added. "I bet this doesn't even matter for her, she's probably sleeping with all the professors anyways."

Spock shook his head, "I do not understand, she is not-"

Greg shook his head in disgust, completely ignoring Spock. "It's the only way she would be top of the class with a Vulcan freak like you there too."

"Eliza is very intel-"

"Yeah, Spock, even a Vulcan, who has no business in Starfleet, isn't beating a little girl who only got accepted because Starfleet killed her daddy."

Eliza then lost it. She had been trying so hard to reign it in, but the insults to Spock and her father... she's done.

In a few quick steps and movements, she had kicked Markus in the groin, then kneed him in the face. She turned to Greg, who swung and missed, she tripped him so he landed on his stomach in the snow, and she kicked him in the armpit.

Both men were writhing on the ground, and Spock was looking between them and Eliza with some shock and concern.

"You realize that we will all need to arrive at the extraction point together and that their injuries may cost us more time?" Spock questioned.

Eliza rolled her eyes, "They're fine..." She paused, "Do you want to take a shot? A nice kick in the side?" Eliza asked Spock.

"Why would I wish to injure them further?" Spock asked, even more confused.

"Because they were saying absolutely awful things about you... doesn't it bother you?" Eliza asked.

"No, I know that they are simply ignorant of my culture, and jealous of your intellect. If anything... I pity them," Spock said.

Eliza looked at Spock with a blank expression, "I... you're right... you must think of me as quite ignorant as well..."

Spock shook his head, "On the contrary, I find that you are very accepting and open to people and their experiences. You are simply defensive of yourself and... your friends."

Eliza smiled widely, this was the first time Spock acknowledged himself as her friend, "Yeah well... I've only got one good one. I'm a little protective of him."

Spock smiled slightly at her, "I am... appreciative of it."

Eliza smiled softly before looking around, refocusing on the original goal. "I'm going to climb up that mountain, see if I can find the extraction point from there. If you could handle these two... that would be nice."

Spock nodded his head and sent a small smile her way before she left to climb the mountain.

...

Spock wasn't worried when Eliza didn't come back within a few hours. He was a little busy trying to aid the other two members of their team. When night fell again, and it had been more than seven hours, Spock became worried. It appeared that he wasn't the only one. Greg and Markus had a change of heart after Eliza beat the crap out of them. They realized that she was likely the only way they would find their way out of the survival and extraction mission, and so were suddenly invested in her wellbeing, even if they remained displeased about what happened the last time they saw her.

It had been eight hours, and Spock was beginning to gather up some remaining supplies to go out and look for her when he heard a strange whizzing sound coming from above them. Spock stood as the noise became louder and more intense. His mind went to the most likely conclusion, an avalanche.

"Greg, Markus! Wake up! I believe there is an avalanche approaching," Spock called out to them in the tent.

He heard several profanities being cried, followed by a frantic exit of the tent.

"What the hell should we do?!" Greg cried.

"I cannot determine that until we know the source," Spock replied, trying to remain calm. "I am struggling to see in the dark."

Suddenly, Greg spotted lights coming around the side of the mountain, "What's that?!" He yelled, the noise suddenly becoming louder as a shuttle flew into view.

"Well, it's not an avalanche!" Markus shouted.

The shuttle landed and the three men waited in anticipation as the doors opened. A figure was backlit and very difficult to see, but Spock recognized her voice immediately.

"Get in! Bring the tent!" Eliza shouted over the noise of the engine. The men quickly complied. Once everyone was safely inside the shuttle Eliza turned to Spock, "You can fly this right?"

"Yes, I assume that the intended destination is Starfleet Academy?" Spock asked.

Eliza nodded as Greg and Markus looked very confused. "Can someone explain what's going on here?" Markus demanded.

"The objective of the mission is to survive and make it to the extraction point, but it was never specified who was to be doing the extracting. I believe the purpose is to teach us that we are responsible for our own fates an the fates of our crew," Spock explained.

Eliza smiled and unravelled the scarf around her head and face. Spock noticed that she had blood slowly running down the side of her head.

"Eliza, you're bleeding. Are you injured?" Spock asked.

"Only a little, while I was climbing some rocks came loose and hit me. It's not bad, just a little cut," Eliza said.

Markus then stepped forward, "And what about our injuries?" He questioned, "How are we going to explain a broken nose and several ruptured blood vessels?"

"We're not going to explain it. We're going to tell the whole truth. Especially the parts where you implied that all of our professors were engaging in sexual activity with students for academic gain, and when you were culturally ignorant and offensive to Spock. I think that any academic council will surely think that is to be more of the focus than your mild injuries," Eliza spoke with angered eyes.

Markus and Greg were silent the rest of the ride to Starfleet. In the end, a council did meet to investigate the incident and it resulted in suspensions for both Greg and Markus. Spock and Eliza were the only students to receive a pass on the field assignment.


	2. Chapter 2

Spock and Eliza were going to be parting ways over the break between first and second year. They had finished packing up their things when Eliza approached Spock and handed him a small metal device.

"What is this?" Spock asked her.

Eliza smiled, "It's an iPod, it plays music," She told him. "I put some of my favourites on there. You can listen to them if you miss my..." Eliza smirked, "Enlightening presence."

Spock's face was blank for a moment, and Eliza was finding it hard to tell what Spock thought of the little gift.

"I... thank you," Spock replied after a moment.

* * *

A Few Weeks Later...

Spock was becoming slightly restless during the first parts of his visit to Vulcan. Eliza sent him video messages from time to time during her various escapades on Earth. Spock looked down at his bag, which had still not been fully unpacked, and saw the iPod that Eliza had given him.

He placed the earbuds that were plugged into the iPod into his outer ear and pressed play.

"Ooh, Saturday sun, I met someone, out on the west coast, I gotta get back I can't let this go. Ooh, Saturday sun, I met someone, don't care what it costs, no ray of sunlight's ever lost." The smooth voice of a man sang into Spock's ears. Eliza had told him that this was her favourite song. The lyrics were... oddly speaking to Spock.

He spent the next few weeks listening to it before sleeping, and even sometimes only being able to go to sleep when listening to her music.

Eventually, near the end of his stay on Vulcan, Spock had an insight into an action he certainly had to take. That evening, he contacted Starfleet academy, informing them that he was requesting Eliza as his roommate once again for the next semester.

Soon, Spock was headed back off to the academy, and something he found himself irrationally excited about was seeing Eliza again. He did get many updates from her, but it was always of her doing dangerous activities. Surfing off the coast of Malaysia, climbing mountains in Switzerland, snowboarding in Canada, hiking in the Russian wilderness. He had been... worried about her.

He arrived at the assigned dorm first. It was, in fact, the same quarters that himself and Eliza had shared the previous academic year.

When he heard a knock on the door, he went to open it with a small smile.

Eliza's face smiled back, "Well, I'm sorry, I seem to have the wrong room."

Spock's smile faltered, "What? I-"

He was cut off when he was tightly embraced by Eliza, "Just joking." She pulled away after a moment, "So, how was your stay on Vulcan?"

Spock nodded slightly, "Perfectly satisfactory, but I am..." Spock trailed off and looked at her, "More than pleased to have returned here."

"Me too," Eliza said with a smile.

* * *

In the two years that followed, the pattern continued. They would spend nearly every waking moment together when at the academy, but during the summer break in between years, they would have little contact; desperately missing each other.

This year, however, they were set to graduate. and Eliza was uncertain about the wants of her friend.

"So... Spock?" Eliza asked, getting his attention. He turned to face her, "Do you exactly have any plans for after graduation? I know it's a little early to think about, but some people have already come and talked to me about different positions, and I just... I just wanted to know what you were planning on doing."

Spock nodded, "I too was planning on asking you what _your_ plans were after we graduate," He replied with a slight smirk.

Eliza smiled, "Well, I've been offered positions as a tactical officer on nearly every ship in the fleet, but I've also been offered a teaching position at the academy."

"I too have been offered similar options. Might I ask if you have also received news of the construction of the USS Enterprise?" Spock asked.

She nodded, "Yes, Captain Pike offered me the position of First Tactical Officer when it was completed."

"I was offered the position of First Science Officer," Spock said. "I would... prefer that we work with each other. I have grown very accustomed to your company."

Eliza smiled at him, "Me too." There was a pause where they both took a moment to feel pleased that their goals seemed to match up well with each other. "So... what should we do during the next four years?"

* * *

Four Years Later...

James T. Kirk was a stubborn man. He ha joined the academy three years ago, and even though his sister taught several classes, he managed to avoid her, and any wor of her too.

It was why, when he was called up in front of the academic council, that he was surprised to find that his accusers were a Vulcan named Spock, and his twin sister Eliza.

"Please step forward," The Academy President spoke. "This is Commander Spock and Commander Kirk, Commander Spock has programmed the test with inspiration on the scenario and outcomes from Commander Kirk. They are our two most distinguished graduates."

Kirk looked at his sister for the first time in nearly eight years. She looked... so different. She was only seventeen when she left, now she was 25. She used to be so scrawny and lean, but now she was toned and strong. She was still short though... he remembered when she used to be taller than him... he remembered when she used to help him with his homework... he remembered her looking at him with pure hatred, like she was now, whenever he got in trouble with Frank... he remembered waiting, every time, for her to finally step in and stand up for him, but she never did... Jim looked away.

Spock looked at Eliza to see if she wanted to speak, and when she made a small gesture towards him, he began.

"Cadet Kirk, it is obvious you somehow managed to install and activate a sub-routine in the programming code, thereby changing the conditions of the test."

"Your point being?" Kirk asked with an arrogant nonchalance.

Eliza was desperately trying not to become completely enraged, but she had to say something. "In other words," Eliza started with a hint of venom in her voice, "You cheated."

Kirk shrugged, "_Respectfully_, define cheating."

"To deceive through trickery," Spock answered immediately.

"Now let me ask you something I think we all know the answer to. The test is rigged, isn't it? You programmed it to be unwinnable," Kirk asked.

Eliza raised an eyebrow and nearly scoffed, "You believe life is _winnable_?"

The academy president cleared his throat, "Cadet Kirk, I do not understand how questioning the intent of the exam is relevant."

"Because if I'm right, the entire test is a cheat," Kirk argued.

"Your argument precludes the possibility of a no-win scenario," Spock replied.

"I don't believe in no-win scenarios," Kirk replied back sharply.

"So then you didn't just cheat, but you also didn't get the point," Eliza chimed in.

"And what's that?" Kirk asked angrily, his volume was beginning to increase. This reminded him of how they used to fight as kids, she would never take his side, she was always against him, always.

"You, of all people, should know, Cadet Kirk," Spock spoke coolly, "A captain cannot cheat death."

This was when Kirk's face went eerily blank, "_I_ of all people?"

Eliza was also about three seconds away from her breaking point. "Yes, you of _all_ people. You seem to incapable of putting the lesson together yourself so let me help you. The purpose of the test is to be afraid. Afraid of certain death and still maintain control over your ship, your crew and yourself. Like our father did the day he sacrificed his life for ours and the hundreds of people under his command."

The crowd became silent, that was the first time Eliza had actually directly stated that they were siblings, even though everyone already knew... some people were surprised by Eliza's bluntness. "Also, there's another lesson you seem to have never caught onto. Life has given you very hard blows, and any decent Starfleet Captain would take them and learn from them. It seems to me that you never learn, that as soon as you encounter something you cannot overcome with ease, you turn to cheat."

Eliza's words hung in the air for a moment, and it was silent.

Then, a redshirt suddenly came rushing through the room and handed the president a datapad. There was a moment of tense silence as he read it. He then looked up at the crowd and announced, "We've received a distress signal from Vulcan."

Eliza's heart dropped, she ignored the rest of his words to Kirk and looked up at Spock. His hand slightly tremored when he looked down at her concerned face.

"I'll meet you on the Enterprise," Spock said quietly to her before going to help prepare.

Eliza looked across the room at Jim and they locked eyes for a brief moment. Eliza turned away.

* * *

Nearly everyone was aboard the Enterprise bridge when Eliza arrived. Her presence turned a few heads, mostly because of what she was wearing. Part of her job was tactical command, and that could include hand to hand combat with intruders and dealing with hostiles. So she had a custom combat suit made that was outside the usual shirt and skirt of a female officer. Eliza was actually hoping that by wearing this as her uniform, more women would feel comfortable asking for the ease of trousers rather than a fairly short and restrictive skirt.

Her combat suit was black and red, with long pants and long sleeves that fit tightly to her body.

Captain Pike nodded to her as she entered, "Commander Kirk, good to see you."

"You too Captain," Eliza replied. She took her seat next to Spock and looked at him. He seemed tense, which would be about right, they were responding to a distress signal from his home planet. She wanted to reach over and squeeze his hand, but she knew him well enough to know that he wasn't a huge fan of touch as a form of consolation.

Every second wasted was another second that they waited getting to his family, hence why he was a little tense to get going. Sulu's slight mishap was not helping.

Then, Chekov's announcement was made, and one line made Eliza freeze in her seat. "A lightning storm in space." Chekov's words echoed.

Eliza stood and made her way to the Captain's chair, "Captain Pike, the description of the anomaly is eerily similar to the phenomenon that was reported before the destruction of the USS Kelvin," Eliza spoke calmly. Under the surface she was concerned, she wanted to get there as quickly as possible, but she wanted to be cautious.

"And what would you suggest that we do?" Pike questioned. He knew she was the unparalleled expert in all things tactics, and he took her opinion on these matters very seriously.

"I want to get there as fast as the ship can take us, but I would like to have the ship put on alert and have the front shields on max," Eliza told him.

Pike nodded, "Do it."

They hadn't been in warp for long when suddenly, who else barged onto the bridge but Jim.

Eliza and Spock both instantly stood as Jim stumbled towards Captain Pike with McCoy right behind him, trying to pull him back.

While Pike and McCoy shouted over each other trying to explain the situation, Jim began to explain his theory.

"Vulcan isn't experiencing a natural disaster, it's being attacked by Romulans!" Jim shouted.

Everyone fell silent to look at him incredulously. "Cadet Kirk, I think you've had enough attention for one day," Pike said before turning to Bones, "Dr. McCoy, return to medical, we'll have words later."

"Yes sir," McCoy replied quickly.

Eliza was livid, Jim should not be on this ship. She was extremely angry that Jim seemed to be set on intruding on her life.

She leaned over to Spock and said quietly, "Can you get him off this ship?"

Spock looked at her and raised an eyebrow, but approached the arguing Captain and Jim nonetheless.

"As you know, Mr. Kirk is not cleared to be aboard this vessel. By Starfleet regulations that makes him a stowaway-" Spock began but was cut off by James.

"Yeah I get it, you're a great arguer, I'd love to go at it again but-" James was cut off by Eliza.

"Sir, I can remove this Cadet from the bridge," She said to Pike.

"Try it! This cadet is trying to _save_ the bridge!" Jim shouted.

"On what facts?" Spock questioned.

"Fact: the same anomaly, a lightning storm in space, that we saw today also occurred on the day of my birth before a Romulan ship attacked the U.S.S. Kelvin," Kirk started.

Pike glanced at Eliza, "Yes, Commander Kirk has already alerted us to this fact, we have taken certain precautions."

Jim glanced at Eliza with slight surprise, it hadn't really occurred to him that she would have said anything, but Jim wasn't quite done with his evidence.

"Fact: this ship, which had formidable and advanced weaponry, was never seen or heard from again. Fact: the Kelvin attack took place on the edge of Klingon space and at 11-hundred hours last night there was an attack near a Klingon prison planet. Fact: they reported that the attackers were Romulans, Sir."

"And you about this how?" Pike asked.

Kirk turned to Uhura, who had followed them in, "Sir, I intercepted and translated the message myself. Kirk's report is accurate."

"We're warping into a trap, there are Romulans waiting for us, I promise you that," Jim said desperately.

Eliza looked at Spock to see what he thought about the theory, she could tell he appreciated the actually well-formed and thought-out theory.

Pike also looked to Spock, who replied, "The Cadet's logic is sound."

"If Uhura translated the message herself, I believe her," Eliza added.

Jim looked at Eliza slightly hurt, so she had no problem standing up for her Vulcan friend, or for Uhura, but when it came to him... she was not so protective.

Jim and Captain Pike and Uhura took a moment to figure out the communication issue, Eliza spoke quietly to Spock, "If we find the people who killed my father... I'm not sure that I will be able to control myself." Spock raised an eyebrow in confusion, he wasn't sure what she was trying to tell him. "If I start making bad decisions... please tell me."

Spock nodded, "And I trust that under the circumstances, a threat to my homeworld, that you would do the same for me."

Eliza looked up at him, "I won't have to, because everything is going to be fine."

Before Spock could respond Pike an the others quickly jumped into action, "Shields up! Ready all weapons!" He called.

Eliza quickly moved back to her station to prep all weapons. Her heart was pounding, they were about to drop out of warp, and she wasn't sure what she was going to see. What was she prepared to see, and what was she prepared to know?

"Emergency evasive!" Pike shouted as the wreckage of the entirety of the Starfleet fleet suddenly appeared in front of them.

Sulu brought them under the wreck, and then they saw it. A massive ship, unlike anything she'd ever seen before appeared in front of Eliza's eyes, and she knew... she knew that whoever the captain was of that ship... that was the person who killed her father.

A red blinking light suddenly appeared on Eliza's dash, she immediately called out the signal, "Captain they're lock torpedoes!"

"Full reverse, come about Starboard ninety degrees! Drop us down underneath them! Prepare to fire all weapons!" Captain Pike ordered.

Suddenly they were hit with one of the torpedoes and the ship rocked violently.

"Shields at 32% sir!" Eliza yelled over the chaos.

"Captain, the Romulan ship has lowered some kind of high energy pulse device into the Vulcan atmosphere. Its signal appears to be blocking our communications and transporter abilities!" Spock called out.

"All power to forward shields!"

"Captain, I can try to shoot their torpedoes out of the sky with our plasma cannons, it may cause a proximity detonation," Eliza said.

Pike nodded, "It's our best shot, put out the proximity detonation alert and-" Suddenly Pike was cut off by the face that appeared on the screen.

"Captain we're being hailed," Uhura said.

"Hello," The man said.

"I am Captain Christopher Pike, to whom am I speaking?" Pike questioned firmly.

"I... am Nero," He spoke.

Eliza now knew... Nero was the one that killed her father.

"You've declared war against the Federation. Withdraw, and I'll agree to arrange a conference with Romulan leadership at a neutral locat-"

"I do not speak for the Empire. We stand apart. As does your Vulcan crew member... isn't that right? Spock?" Nero questioned. As soon as the mention of Spock came out of his mouth, Eliza stood. Nero's eyes widened slightly, "Ah, isn't this a pleasant surprise, Commander Spock and Commander Kirk on the same starship."

Spock stepped in front of Eliza and walked over to the captain's chair, "Pardon me. But I don't believe we are acquainted," Spock spoke about himself and Eliza... and this Nero figure.

Nero grinned sickly, "No... not yet." He paused, "I want you to see this Spock." Eliza stepped back in front of Spock, so she was standing right beside Captain Pike. Nero looked at Eliza and Captain Pike with a wicked gleam, "One of you two will take a shuttle to my ship for negotiations."

There was a moment of silence, Eliza looked down at Captain Pike who looked up at her.

Eliza looked away, "Nero likely wants information on the Starfleet inter-planetary defence system. You have that knowledge, not me. I'll go."

Jim stepped forward at the same time Spock froze in place.

"He'll kill you! You know that!" Jim cried.

"No I don't, not if I kill him and his crew first," Eliza spoke back with a chill in her voice. Jim suddenly realized just how different Eliza had become. Before she was a shy girl that liked to rock-climb, and now she was confident enough that she believed that she could kill a ship full of Romulans, and she was willing to get tortured on the chance that she was wrong. She was dangerous.

Jim realized that he wasn't going to be able to change Eliza's mind so instead he turned to Pike. "Captain, we gain no advantage by going over there. It's a mistake!" He pleaded.

Spock then stepped forward, "Captain, if I may..." He gestured to the situation, Pike nodded. "I agree with Mr. Kirk, we gain no advantage by either of you going to Nero's ship," Spock then turned to look at Eliza, "And I believe you are wrong in guessing the motivations of Nero. He said he wanted me to see something, and as he knows who we both are, I believe the logical conclusion is that he would rather show me your suffering than learn anything of the Starfleet planetary defence."

Jim and Pike both looked at Spock with confusion, while Eliza's cool facade fell in the face of her friend who wasn't willing to let her go.

Suddenly, Pike came up with an idea, "I need officers who have been trained in advanced hand-to-hand combat!" He called. Eliza locked eyes with him, and she could tell that he wasn't meaning her.

"I have training sir," Sulu said. Eliza smiled at him, he had been one of her best students in hand-to-hand combat at the academy.

Pike nodded, "Then come with me," Pike paused and looked at Jim, "You too Kirk, you're not supposed to be here anyway." Pike turned to Chekov, "Radio the engine room, have Chief Engineer Olsen meet us at Shuttle Bay Five."

"Yes, Keptain," Chekov replied.

Captain Pike left the bridge, followed by Spock, Eliza, Jim and Sulu.

"Captain, what's the plan?" Eliza asked.

"Without transporters, we can't beam off the ship, can't assist Vulcan, can't do our job. I'm creating an opportunity. Mr. Kirk, Mr. Sulu and Mr. Olson will space-jump from the shuttle. You'll have chutes and you'll land on that machine they've lowered into the atmosphere that's scrambling our gear. You'll get inside, disable that thing then beam back to the ship," Captain Pike explained.

Sulu and Jim shared a glance, what have they just signed up for?

Pike turned to face Eliza, "Commander, I'm leaving you in command of the ship, once we have communications back up, contact the rest of Starfleet and relay the situation. If all else fails, fall back and regroup with the rest of the fleet."

"Captain!" Eliza cried, "Please, let me go. I can't... I can't captain this ship, sir. And you're more valuable than I am."

Pike shook his head slightly, "No, Eliza," Pike said softly. "Now, you have your orders. Spock you're promoted to first officer, Kirk," Pike paused, "God help us if it comes to this, but you're the second officer."

Eliza would have protested his decision if she wasn't feeling as though her world was about to come crashing down.

Pike turned to Eliza with a grin, "The ship's brand new Captain, be careful with her."

And suddenly, Eliza was the Captain of the USS Enterprise.


	3. Chapter 3

"Put up their positions," Eliza said to Chekov from her position in the Captain's chair.

The bridge crew watched as the trio descended towards the drill site, gasped when Olsen acted like the idiot that he always was and nearly ruined their chances of stopping the drill.

Eliza breathed a sigh of relief when the drill was deactivated, but that didn't last for long. When they saw that something was launched into Vulcan, the wristband that Eliza always wore buzzed, alerting her that Spock had an elevated heart rate.

Many people had bands that told them what was going on in their own bodies, but it was five years ago that Spock had acquired them...

* * *

Flashback...

Spock worries far more than most people would ever notice. Even Eliza, who has the strange ability to see right through him, sometimes seems oblivious when what he is feeling concerns her. Spock worries about Eliza. All the time. The anxiety he gets when they are on break from the academy and he knows she is out there alone doing very dangerous things is unlike anything he has ever felt before.

"Eliza," Spock started one day, "I have procured something that I would like you to have."

Eliza put down the book she was reading and looked up at Spock, "What?" She asked.

Spock presented a black box to her, she looked at him slightly oddly before opening it. Inside was a black wristband that had a small display.

Eliza looked up at him in confusion, "What is it?" Eliza asked.

Spock smiled slightly, "It's a device that will allow us to monitor each other's well being. If something happens to one of us," Spock pushed back his sleeve slightly to reveal that he was wearing an identical one, "We simply use this to alert each other."

Eliza was at first, uncertain about the idea, but upon the realization that since it was Spock that she was dealing with, there must be a fairly logical explanation.

"When'd you come up with this?" Eliza asked. Spock was silent for a moment, and Eliza could instantly tell that perhaps his motivation was not exactly... logical. "You don't have to say, it's fine, I-"

"Eliza," Spock interrupted, "I do not mind telling you, but I fear that you may find my motivations... foolish at best, and insulting at worst."

She looked at him with a strange half-smile, "Okay... well, I promise I won't think it's foolish or insulting."

Spock nodded, "I occasionally become concerned with your safety when we are separated by great distance."

Eliza looked up at him in shock, she hadn't seen that coming. She put on the bracelet and reached her hand out for Spock's. He took it.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Eliza asked.

Spock paused for a moment, "I thought that you may not appreciate my concern."

Eliza squeezed his hand, "Of course I do. Spock... you know you can tell me anything right? Even if you think I'm not going to like it." Spock nodded and Eliza let go of his hand. "So what else do these things do?" Eliza asked about the wristbands.

"They send an alert to the partner if something is wrong, for example, an injury, or abnormal heart rate and breathing. Additionally, the signal appears on beaming displays, making it exponentially easier for someone to lock onto your signal," Spock explained.

Eliza nodded, "Well, that could be very useful."

* * *

"Chekov, run gravitational sensors. I want to know what they're doing to the planet," Spock said.

After a few moments Chekov replied, "Keptin, gravitational sensors are off the scale. If my calculations are correct, that pod they launched is creating a singularity... that will consume the planet."

Eliza glanced up at Spock, horrified for him. "How long does the planet have Chekov?" She asked.

"Minutes Keptin, minutes," Chekov spoke sadly.

Eliza stood, followed quickly by Spock, "Chekov, you have the con."

She quickly left the bridge, followed by Spock, "I assume you are joining me in beaming to the surface?" He asked her.

She nodded silently, "We'll get them, I promise."

Eliza and Spock arrived in the beaming room just as Sulu and Jim landed hard on the floor.

Eliza walked up to them, "Clear the pad."

Jim looked up at her with confusion, "Where are you going?" He asked Eliza and Spock.

"The surface," Spock replied.

"You're going down there! Are you insane?! You can't!" Jim exclaimed in shock. He grabbed Eliza's arm, which was a mistake as she swiftly grabbed his forearm and flipped him off of the pad. Sulu got the message and quickly vacated the area as well. Eliza nodded to Chekov, who was now sitting at the controls.

They appeared on the surface of Vulcan a mere moment later. Spock took off running, and Eliza followed quickly behind him.

...

Sarek was surprised when he heard his wife say his son's name, but he was even more surprised when he turned to see the face of a woman he had only seen in pictures before.

"The planet's not safe, it has only seconds left. We must evacuate now," Spock spoke as calmly as he was able.

Sarek followed behind his son and his wife, suddenly, there was a large crashing noise coming from above him, and he was quickly pulled backwards. A huge rock crashed right into where he used to be standing. He turned around to see Spock's friend, what was her name again? Elise? Elana? Eliza? Yes, it was Eliza.

Before he could thank her, he heard Spock's voice, "Hurry, the planet is destabilizing!"

The ones who made it, stood around them, waiting to be beamed up to the USS Enterprise when something... truly terrible happened.

The ground under Amanda's feet suddenly disappeared, and then Sarek saw a dart of black follow her into the abyss. He would not have known what had happened if Spock had not shouted "Eliza!"

It seemed the young woman dove after his wife... but Sarek did not dare dream that he would see them again, he couldn't bear to hope and be disappointed...

...

Spock felt like he couldn't breathe, he had just watched the two people that he... that he cared about the most fall into the black hole that was consuming his home.

He knew that Eliza had the strangest urges to do the most dangerous things Spock could imagine, but this... she just killed herself.

Spock saw the interior of the beaming room on the Enterprise, and he shut his eyes tightly. It was then, when he was trying to drown everything out, that he heard Chekov's frantic voice.

"I've got them! I've got them!"

Spock opened his eyes and turned just in time to see his mother land on top of Eliza on the pad, not unlike how Sulu landed on Jim not too long ago.

Amanda stood and embraced her son, and then her husband. Eliza didn't want to intrude on the moment, so she quietly stood and began to exit the room. Not quite before Spock noticed.

"Eliza," He spoke. She turned and looked at him as if she was expecting him to ask her a question. "You're bleeding."

She brought a hand up to her forehead and saw that there was blood on her fingertips from a cut caused by a falling rock. She nodded her head slightly, "I'm fine," She said. "And Commander, there's no rush to return to your post, take your time."

Spock locked eyes with her and nodded his head slightly, "Thank you, Captain."

...

Eliza entered the bridge and quickly re-entered her role as Captain. "Sulu," She started, "Make sure we are outside the minimum safe distance from the black hole."

Sulu nodded, "Already done Captain."

"And does anybody know where Nero is now heading?" Eliza asked.

"Yes Captain," Uhura answered, "Their trajectory suggests no other destination but Earth."

Jim then looked at Eliza, "You're bleeding," He commented with surprise.

"I am aware, I'm fine," Eliza said.

"Why didn't they destroy us Keptin? I do not understand," Chekov said to Eliza.

"Nero said he wanted Spock to see something, I believe that the destruction of Vulcan was what Nero wanted him to see," Eliza said. During Eliza and Chekov's little discussion about Nero's motives, McCoy had come up behind Eliza with some of his medical instruments. "If you touch me, doctor McCoy, you'll regret it," Eliza said sharply.

Bones raised an eyebrow, "What is with you Kirks and hating doctors? There's got to be a story there," Bones muttered to himself.

"I just don't understand how the Romulans jumped so far ahead in the arms race," Sulu said, returning to the original topic

Just then, Spock came aboard the bridge. "The engineering comprehension necessary to artificially create a black hole may suggest the answer. Such technology could theoretically be manipulated to create a tunnel through space-time."

Eliza looked at him in surprise, "Are you sure?" She asked.

"I don't buy it," Jim stated, "Time travel? Seriously?"

"If you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth," Spock recited.

"So what are we going to do then?" Bones demanded grumpily.

Everyone turned to Eliza, Spock had been so focused on proving his theory to be correct that he hadn't noticed that Eliza was not looking well.

"Captain Pike was very clear in his orders, we are to meet up with the rest of the fleet in the Laurentian System," Eliza said. She then stood from her chair, "Spock, you have the con. Dr. McCoy, with me."

Eliza left the concerned eyes of Spock behind her and led Bones to the medbay.

"What are we doing Captain? Finally letting me look after that nasty cut?" He asked her.

"Just some quick stitches, I can't have a bloody face on the bridge, it's distracting."

Bones mumbled something but got to work anyways.

He was almost done when his curiosity was getting the better of him.

"So... why do you Kirk's not like doctors?" Bones asked.

Eliza looked at him with deliberation, "It's not really my story to tell. You should ask Jim, but if he gives you some bullshit answer about how I didn't do anything, that's a flat out lie."

Bones narrowed his eyebrows in confusion but finished the last stitch.

Eliza stood and walked out of the medbay. When she arrived back on the bridge it was in a slight stage of chaos. Jim was being restrained by Sulu and Spock looked... livid.

"What's going on here?" Eliza asked.

"Cadet Kirk was making it quite clear that he was objecting to the ship's current course," Spock answered. "He was just being escorted off the bridge."

"Alright then," Eliza said.

Jim had been planning on going fairly willingly, but when he heard her brush him off again... it brought back bad memories, and Jim wasn't going to leave without a fight. And Eliza was the closest one to him.

He lunged towards her, but she was sort of expecting a reaction from him, so she stepped to the side, twisted, and turned out her foot. He tripped and fell onto his face. He quickly got to his feet and turned to Eliza, he took a swing at her, which she easily dodged. He tried again, with the same result.

She then stepped towards him, still evading his punches. She punched him in the soft tissue of his side while kicked his hip, causing him to hunch over and bend his leg. Then she quickly put one leg over his shoulder and twisted over his shoulder. When the movement was done, she was kneeling on his back while he was on the ground again. Before he could make any move to get up, Eliza pulled her blaster from her belt, which was on stun, and shot him in the back.

Sulu and Spock, who had seen this sort of display by her before were impressed, but overall unphased. However, the other crew members who hadn't seen her fight before were, to say the least, scared.

Checkov turned to Sulu and mouthed, "Wow."

"Have transportation prepare a deployment capsule," Eliza said as she stood and moved away from his unconscious body.

...

A while later, Spock was chasing Eliza through the corridors as she was marching with purpose to a small shuttle.

"Captain, where are you going?" Spock asked, but was either not heard or ignored. Spock ran up beside her and grabbed her arm, "Eliza." She looked up at him with vague annoyance. "What are you doing?"

Eliza looked him right in the eye and smiled in the way that she always did when she was about to do something that he didn't approve of. "James was right about one thing, that if we take the time to meet up with the rest of the fleet, we're going to be too late... so I'm going to buy us some time."

Spock's blood ran cold, "And how, exactly, are you planning on achieving that?"

"Spock... he only wanted two things, he wanted Pike... and he wanted me. So I'm gonna do what I should've done the first time," Eliza said to him. Her voice seemed calm, but Spock knew her well enough that he could tell she was quite afraid.

"Eliza, you can't be serious. He'll kill you!" Spock exclaimed in a rare outburst.

Eliza shook her head, "No, I don't think he will... actually, I'm almost certain he won't."

"And how's that?" Spock asked.

"Because you wouldn't be there to see it," Eliza said softly and Spock froze. "That's why you need to promise me that whatever happens, you won't find your way onto that ship."

Spock stood there and looked at her with a mixture of desperation and sadness. "If something happens to you because of his vendetta against me... I'll never forgive myself."

Eliza looked down briefly before looking at him one last time, "Then I'm sorry."

She boarded the shuttle alone and he had to go back to the bridge to fulfill his new role as Captain.


	4. Chapter 4

Eliza looked back at the Enterprise with no regrets. Well, maybe she should have left a message for Jim, just in case. She knew they wouldn't kill her on purpose, but if she came in there guns blazing who knows what might happen by accident.

Either way, everything would be fine. Jim and Bones seemed to be friends, and Spock... well he had Uhura. Eliza would be more than happy to do this for them.

As she was getting close, going as fast as her small ship could, she attempted to hail Nero's ship. The first time... nothing. But the second time, he answered.

"Why, hello Commander Kirk," Nero said with a stupid grin. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I want a trade, let Captain Pike go, and I'll board your ship peacefully. And you can get whatever you wanted from me," Eliza said.

Nero smiled, "You think you can stall me? I'll let you try."

Suddenly, she saw her body being surrounded by the tell-tale particles of a transport beam. She barely had time to grab her phaser before she opened her eyes onboard Nero's ship.

She shot the first two figures she saw right away, then rolled off the platform. Unfortunately, she was still a little disoriented, and she rolled off a bit of a pedestal, hurting her shoulder in the process. She gasped in pain, but she kept moving, and, more importantly, she kept shooting. She eventually seemed to make it to some kind of control area. At this point, she wished she had relied a little less on Spock in xenolinguistics because she didn'dt understand any of the controls. However, she wasn't here to steer them away from Earth, she was just here to throw them off and slow them down.

She started pulling random levers and pushing random buttons, at first she wasn't sure it was doing anything, but then she knew it was because five heavily armed men came bursting into the room and opened fire. She barely had time to leap to cover, and even then, she was knicked by a shot just under her hip.

Eliza was breathing heavily as they stopped shooting. She heard their footsteps approaching where she was. If she was being honest, she had not been expecting them to fire lethal weapons at her. But just as that thought passed through her head, she heard shouting.

"What are you doing?!" Someone yelled, "Nero wants her ALIVE!"

Eliza took a deep breath and gripped her phaser even tighter. The moment one of them turned the corner she shot at them, managing to get hits on two of them. Unfortunately, a lucky shot from one of their phasers, now set to stun, shot the gun right out of her hand.

"Crap!" She said to herself as she rolled away from their fire. She struggled to get to her feet, she managed to grab the gun off one of the men she had previously downed and managed to deal with the remaining two. Then she faced the man who had come in after the five. She could tell that he was important, but he wasn't Nero.

She was pointing her gun at him, and he was doing the same. But he was giving away just how much he wanted to get her away from the control panels that she had previously messed with.

"You know, if you didn't want me to mess with your controls, you shouldn't have challenged me to," Eliza taunted.

The man scoffed, "You hardly did, nothing that someone who knows what they're doing can't undo."

Eliza smiled and knew what she had to do. She suddenly turned and shot the control panels as many times as she could before he managed to stun her.

When she opened her eyes again, Nero was there, and he didn't look too pleased.

...

When Spock returned to the bridge the first question was: "Where's Captain Kirk?"

"She's gone to buy time with Nero so we can make it to the Laurentian system and back in time," Spock explained.

Bones then marched up from where he had been standing off to the side. "Are you out of your Vulcan mind?!" He shouted. "They're going to kill her! How could you let her go?!"

"I did not _let_ anyone go anywhere. She is- was the Captain, and it was her decision alone to make," Spock replied as calmly as he could. He looked around at the crew to see that they were all disheartened by the news that they had just lost another Captain to Nero. Sulu and Uhura were looking especially upset, which was no surprise. Eliza and Uhura were friends and Eliza had taught many of Sulu's classes in the academy, and since he was closer in age to her than the other classmates, they had a special friendship. "Do not be disheartened, we do have a way of seeing her wellbeing," Spock provided, looking down at the black band on his wrist. With a press of a button, they saw Eliza's vitals on the screen. Everything was normal, so the contented crew got back to work.

Unfortunately, it wasn't too long before Spock's attempt at comforting the crew went a little sideways. Her heart rate suddenly elevated and immediately the crew could see the notification that said she had a wound on her right shoulder. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at the screen as she accumulated more minor injuries. Then, she got shot.

Spock clenched the armrests on the chair as Bones made another comment. "They're using live rounds?! I thought they wanted her alive?"

"Well, she's probably putting up a hell of a fight then," Sulu added.

According to the device, she wasn't in any danger of bleeding out, and it was a fairly simple flesh wound. This partially put Spock's mind at ease, but then again, it would certainly impact the way she was able to fight.

Then, the screen was suspiciously inactive, for a few moments anyway. Then it was clear that she was up and fighting again because her heart rate skyrocketed. Then there was another moment of inactivity, but then she was suddenly unconscious.

"Sir! They dropped out of warp, close to Earth, but if whatever malfunction that caused them to stop keeps... malfunctioning, we have a shot of gathering the fleet before they get there," Sulu reported.

Spock nodded wearily, he was glad that her plan had worked, but what price was she now going to have to pay for it?

...

Meanwhile, on Delta Vega...

Jim was about to have his ass handed to him by some crazy ice-monster thing when suddenly he was saved by a mysterious man.

He pulled off his hood, and James saw a face he recognized... sort of.

"James T. Kirk," Spock Prime spoke.

"Excuse me?" Kirk asked, extremely confused.

"How did you find me?" Spock asked, ignoring Jim's confusion as he often had in their youth.

"How do you know my name?" Jim asked.

"I have been, and always shall be... your friend," Spock replied.

Jim just stared at him for a second, "What?"

"I... am Spock, one hundred and thirty years senior to the Vulcan you know," Spock prime said to Kirk.

Jim then fell into a prolonged lapse of silence, so Spock led him to where he had set up his camp.

They were sitting around the fire when Jim finally spoke again.

"Well, this is a hallucination. You can't be Spock because if you were you'd remember that you hate me and that you marooned me here for mutiny," Jim said.

Spock's face twisted with confusion, "Mutiny? _You_ aren't the Captain?"

Jim scoffed, "Oh, I see what's happening here. So in your universe, I'm Captain?" He asked and Spock nodded. "And in your universe, you and I are best friends?" Spock nodded again. "Alright, yeah, so I'm afraid that me and my sister have been switched up a little. _She's_ the Captain of the Enterprise, and _she's _your friend, not me. I'm sure in your universe you hate her, but..." James stopped when he saw the look on Spock's face.

"Eliza is still alive?" He asked, a faint glimmer of hope was present in his voice.

"Yeah..." Jim said with confusion. "Was she... not?"

Spock shook his head, "I... could not save her."

Jim wasn't really sure what to do with that. "I'm sorry." There was a moment before he spoke again. "How did she die?"

Spock suddenly looked much older than he had before, "She put her trust in the wrong person. As did I."

"So, I guess things aren't the opposite," Kirk commented, trying to bring up the mood a bit.

Spock snapped out of his reverie, "Allow me to show you... a glimpse from my past."

"Wha-" Kirk was cut off by Spock's fingers on his face, and then all of a sudden he was pulled into Spock's memories.

Spock led him through his mission to stop the supernova and showed him his encounter with Nero.

Jim watched, with the same emotions as Spock had, Vulcan collapse onto itself. He watched as Spock fell to his knees as his planet was destroyed. Then something strange happened. The memory kept switching back and forth from the destruction of Vulcan, and... something else. Spock was also hunched over on his knees, but he was holding something... someone, and he was sobbing. It was Eliza, she looked... it was horrific. Blood was falling from her eyes like tears, her lips were blue, her face was badly bruised.

"Please, Eliza, please." Jim could hear faintly chanted.

Then just as suddenly, the memories stopped and Jim staggered back.

"I'm sorry, I did not mean to show you that," Spock said with remorse.

Tears were streaming down Kirk's face as the emotions that Spock felt were starting to wear off.

"Forgive me, emotional transference is a side-effect of the mind-meld," Spock added after seeing Kirk's face.

"So you do feel," Jim asked/commented.

"Yes," Spock answered simply.

Still gathering himself, Jim asked: "You loved her?"

There was a pause, "I did."

More together now, Jim turned to face Spock, "Going back in time, it changed all of our lives."

"It was not intended, but yes," Spock replied. "Now, come. There is a Starfleet outpost not too far from here."

"Wait," Kirk said, "Where you came from, did I know my father?"

Spock smiled slightly, "Yes, you often spoke of him as your inspiration from joining Starfleet. He proudly lived to see you become Captain of the Enterprise. A destiny, I feel, we must return you to."

...

Back onboard the Enterprise, things were going relatively smoothly. Or at least, that's how Spock's facial expressions made it seem. He had taken down the link to Eliza's vitals from the main screen in the ship. Deciding that, whenever she woke up... the crew would not do well to seeing the effects of torture on the human body.

He had just finished speaking to Doctor McCoy about the banishing of James Kirk from the vessel when his father came aboard the bridge.

"Spock," Sarek spoke, "If you have a moment, I'd like to speak with you privately."

"I do," Spock replied. He then turned to Sulu, "You have the con."

Spock followed his father to a small room near the medical bay where his mother was also waiting.

"What is this about?" Spock asked. "Are you alright mother?"

Amanda smiled, "Yes Spock, I am fine. But I simply wanted to inquire about your friend, the one who jumped after me. She seemed to be wounded."

Spock stared at her for a moment, his flat face faltered.

"Spock?" His father asked.

"Eliza boarded Nero's ship to buy us more time," He said as neutrally as possible.

Amanda and Sarek shared a look. She stood from her seat and placed her hand on Spock's cheek. "I'm sorry Spock."

Spock was unsure what to say. "Thank you," He eventually settled on. "I must return to the bridge."

"If you would allow it, I would like to accompany you and observe," Sarek asked.

"Of course father," Spock said.

The two of them returned to the bridge just as Chekov spoke. "Keptin! We are detecting unauthorized access to the water turbine controls system!"

"Bring up security video," Spock said as he sat in the captain's chair. The entire bridge crew watched as Jim and another unknown man caught their breath under the turbine. "Get security down there and bring them to the bridge. Set phasers to stun."

It wasn't long after Spock's message to security that Jim and Scotty were both brought onto the bridge.

"Who are you?" Spock asked Scotty.

"He's with me," Kirk said at the same time Scotty said, "I'm with him."

"We're travelling at warp speed, how did you manage to beam aboard this vessel?" Spock questioned.

"You're the genius, you figure it out," Kirk said to the annoyance of Spock.

"As acting Captain of this vessel, I order you to answer my question."

"Whatever _acting_ Captain. Where's my sister?" Kirk asked.

The entirety of the bridge shared the same look, oh shit.

"Commander Kirk made the decision to board Nero's ship in order to buy us more time to gather the rest of Starfleet," Spock said.

Jim's eyebrow twitched, "So you're the Captain now?"

"That is correct." Spock turned to Scotty, "Are you a member of Starfleet?"

"Uh, yes. Can get a towel please?"

"Under penalty of court marshal, I order you to explain to me how you beamed aboard this-"

"Don't answer him," Jim interrupted. "And I'm sorry can we get back to the fact that you shipped my sister off to Nero?" He demanded.

"As I said, it was her decision and-"

"It doesn't even upset you a little does it? You really are heartless. She's your best friend and you let her go to her death on Nero's ship?! And then, of course, there's your planet collapsing, which didn't seem to phase you one bit did it?" Kirk questioned relentlessly.

"Eliza Kirk is very much alive, and your assumption that any of these events hampers my ability to command this ship is inaccurate."

"And yet, _you_ were the one that said that fear is necessary for command. I mean, did you _see_ his ship, did you _see_ what he did?"

"Of course I did."

"Then are you afraid or not?!" Kirk yelled.

"I will not allow you to lecture me on the merits of emotion," Spock spoke tensely.

Kirk stepped closer to him, getting right in Spock's face. "Then why don't you stop me?"

"Step away from me Mr. Kirk."

"What's it like? Not to feel anything? Not anger or heartbreak? Or the need to stop at nothing to avenge your entire planet? Or the man that's going to torture and kill your only friend?!" Kirk cried.

"Step. Away." Spock said warningly.

"You must just not feel anything! It must not even compute for you! I mean, you know he's going to kill her! You knew that she was dead the moment she left this ship! You must have never loved her at all!" Jim yelled at Spock.

There was exactly one second of silence, but lots happened during it. For one, Uhura's heart broke. So did Jim's nose.

Spock attacked him with a rage and fury that no one had been expecting. It was fairly similar in length to the beatdown James had gotten from Eliza not too long before, but it was so much rawer. In a matter of moments, Spock was choking Jim against one of the control panels that Chekov had wisely moved away from. Everyone was looking between themselves, each hoping the other would intervene before Spock killed Kirk.

Then, from the back of the bridge, Sarek spoke, "Spock, enough."

Spock still kept his hand around Jim's throat for a moment, but then finally released him into a sputtering mess.

Spock stepped back and turned to look at his father, whose face was unreadable. Spock was ashamed of his outburst and embarrassed that he assaulted a fellow Starfleet member in front of the entire bridge.

"Doctor McCoy, I am no longer fit for duty. I relinquish my command on the grounds of me being... emotionally compromised. Please note the time and date in the ship's log."

Spock then left the bridge and eyes turned to Sarek, who then followed him. Spock arrived at the empty transport room, and Sarek soon followed.

"Speak your mind Spock," Sarek said.

Spock shut his eyes and slightly shook his head, "That would be unwise," He whispered.

"What is necessary is never unwise," Sarek spoke wisely.

"This is not something you can understand," Spock said to his father and turned to face him.

"You love that girl," Sarek started and Spock's eyes widened, "You love her and you watched her leap off of a cliff to save your mother. You love her and you had to watch her leave to an uncertain fate." Spock was about to ask him how he knew, but Sarek spoke first. "I know, I know that fear because it is the same fear that grasps my heart every time your mother isn't by my side."

"But when I was young you told me-"

"I lied. I didn't marry your mother because it was my duty, I married her because I loved her," Sarek said. "And I love you, my son."

A single tear fell from Spock's face, "Nero will kill her, and there is nothing I can do about it."

Sarek smiled smally and placed a hand on his son's shoulder, "You can save her."

...

Jim, Bones, Sulu, Chekov, Uhura and Scotty were all arguing on the bridge about how they were going to overtake Nero's ship when Spock entered the bridge. Uhura quickly looked away from him.

"Mr. Chekov is correct. I was doing calculations on my way here, and I can confirm that if Mr. Sulu can manoeuvre us into position, I can beam aboard the ship," Spock spoke purposefully.

Kirk furrowed his eyebrows, "I'm not going to order you to do that Spock, you could get killed."

"Vulcans and Romulans share a common ancestry. Our cultural similarities offer me unique insight into the layout and design of their ship which would be quite advantageous," Spock presented. "Also, my mother is from Earth, and that makes it the only home I have left."

Kirk's blank face went to a grin, "Well then I'm coming with you."


End file.
